Tata Harrier.ev does complicate things. It is not a straight version of the Harrier to its electric avatar, but an expression of what an electric SUV can do for an adventurous driver. With its acti.ev+ architecture and a dual-motor setup powering all four wheels, the Harrier.ev tries to blend off-road ability with city dignity. We spent a day behind its wheel pushing it across highways and tight NCR lanes to ascertain how this new e-SUV adapts to different terrains.
Rugged Design That Speaks Without Shouting
The Harrier.ev has a sturdy build with futuristic highlights across its design. With its connected front and rear DRLs, LED projector headlamps, and signature aero-optimised R19 alloy wheels, its craggy design looks athletic yet smooth enough to pull in your local club at night. This ‘nainital nocturne’ blue that we drove is definitely the nicest colour of the lot.
It looks fresh and has a sporty appeal. There is a matte black ‘Stealth Edition’ variant that further increases its tough appeal, but will be hard to maintain. That said, Tata could have added more exterior colour options for such a noticeable SUV.
Comfortable Cabin With Connected Features
The interior of the Harrier.ev is packed with soft-touch materials, smart digital interfaces, and voice-activated features into one seamless living space. The massive 14.5-inch Harman infotainment system powered by Samsung Neo QLED for more vibrant colours, and is loaded with connected tech. It also has a nice touch and feel. It pairs with a cinematic JBL Black 10-speaker system and Dolby Atmos, which is absolutely epic. That said the infotainment screen will need some quick software fixes as it tends to misbehave and hang sometimes.
Passenger comfort has been taken very seriously. The front seats are power-adjustable, ventilated, and has with memory settings. They are also padded well with ample support to cosset you in place. The seat comfort is decent at the rear as well with enough support and an agreeable back angle. Tata could offer rear seat recline to make it more comfortable. Rear passengers do get sunshades and comfort headrests though. There is a Boss Mode that reconfigures the co-driver seat for extra space. Add to this dual-zone climate control, an air purifier, a panoramic sunroof, and you get proper luxury SUV feels here.
Quad-Wheel Drive Can Bite Into Most Terrain
Central to all the noise about the Harrier.ev is its dual-motor setup, an induction motor at the front and a permanent magnet motor at the rear, together pushing out 504 Nm of torque. The result? Quick acceleration and sure-footed grip. Tata claims a 0-100 kmph time of 6.3 seconds in Boost Mode, which feels very much believable when you floor it. Though we will take it for a longer test around the country later, the initial impressions are that it stays balanced and composed under hard throttle even on curvy roads, and most likely multiple surfaces.
Its 6 Terrain Modes, Normal, Snow/Grass, Mud-Ruts, Sand, Rock Crawl, and Custom, are throttle maps to keep you in control on whichever surface you’re on. We drove on loose gravel and wet patches during our run, as the monsoons gave us trendy opportunities, we had more than enough traction flicking through different modes. Combined with independent multi-link rear suspension and frequency-dependent damping, the Harrier.ev offered a smooth ride quality across varying conditions.
Range, Charging And Digital Extras
Harrier.ev QWD variant comes with a 75 kWh battery pack offering a certified range of 622 km (MIDC). Through our short drive with fast runs and much idling, we estimate it’ll return 350km of range per full up, which is quite good for a dual-motor EV. Admittedly, we also used the boost mode, and were idling for the shoot, but then the car will idle in traffic with the aircon running and will have more than two crummy journalists sitting in adding to the load. A 120 kW DC fast charger adds up to 250 km in 15 minutes, while an AC 7.2 kW charger takes around 10.7 hours to go from 10% to 100%.
The regen paddle shifters have 4 levels and lets you customise braking feel. This can even be used for single-pedal driving in the city to effectively conserve energy and minimise brake wear.
Features like Auto Park Assist with 15 manoeuvres, 540° Transparent View, Blind Spot Monitor, and a digital rear-view mirror with DVR add to the convenience. That digital rear-view mirror will take some time getting used to though. Summon Mode via key fob works well in tight urban parking spots. The circular key itself, though, is not intuitive, and has hard to press buttons which are not easy to use at all. Now, this may be polarising for half the audience, but a key fob is supposed to be quick and easy to use.
The infotainment also supports in-car UPI payments via DrivePay, and a full suite of connected features through iRA.ev lets you monitor, plan, and control your vehicle remotely. We did not spend enough time with it yet to talk about it enough.
Safety Systems Aplenty
The Harrier.ev holds a 5-star BNCAP safety rating and comes equipped with 7 airbags, ESP with i-VBAC, and a full suite of Level 2 ADAS features. These include adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, autonomous emergency braking, and rear collision warnings. The implementation for these systems is smooth, alerts are timely, and none of it feels intrusive during real-world driving most of the time. Overall, the systems genuinely add to the safety response of big SUVs.
However, there are refinement issues with the radar-based system. The system may brake to a halt even if you are partially braking and already have judged the distance. Since the brakes are genuinely very strong, rear-end collisions are a constant risk. You can edit the settings and delay the response, but with multiple drivers changing hands, this may be a sour recipe to begin with. A better solution might be for the system to hold off if the driver is already partially braking, or to initiate a gentler braking intervention instead of an abrupt stop.
Even through our short time with the car, the Harrier.ev consistently felt like a mature product. Inching through traffic, cruising on open roads, or navigating inclines, there is a sense of invincibility wherever you go. It never felt overly digital or disconnected, to take it out in the bushes and slush and dust. The QWD is not cheap, and looks like it’s not even trying to be, but it just might be the most capable all-rounder in the growing EV SUV segment for now.
Photography: Mohd Nasir
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